Switch 11 not getting past Acer splash screen - how can I install a new OS on it?

Onticom

This is a bit of a Hail Mary but given the massive surprise success I had earlier with my Switch 10, I have summoned up the courage to have a go at tackling my bricked Switch 11.

I had a protracted attempt at getting it to update to Windows 10 and at some point the guidance I received led to the current state of affairs - where the machine won't get past the Acer splashscreen.

Ideally I'd like to get it running on Windows 10 (and I'm happy to buy a new licence if that's what's needed) but ultimately, if I could get it running on any OS - eg Ubuntu Linux - that would be a massive result.

I've had a go at plugging in (to the SUB port in the side of the keyboard) a USB Windows installer I used on another old machine I got back up and running earlier in Lockdown but despite the USB lighting up (it has a read/write indicator) that stops fairly swiftly and the machine stays on the splashscreen. I have done some reading that suggests I need to plug in the installer USB to the tablet itself via a microUSB OTG cable - which I've just ordered.

I was just wondering what success (if any) anyone has had installing an OS via USB?

Thanks for any help.

billsey

We're going to need to get slightly past the splash screen, into the BIOS, before it's going to be much of a good project. Using the OTG cable and a wired keyboard, can you click that F2 key fast enough and often enough to get the BIOS up? Once that is working we'll get into the next step, connecting a USB flash drive and the keyboard at the same time! (Guess what, if you don't have a USB hub handy, it's going to mean another trip to Amazon...)

What we're going to do is set the BIOS up to allow for booting from a USB flash drive, then boot from the appropriate Windows install. Then, using a keyboard and mouse) we'll go through the process of wiping the old partitions off the drive and doing a clean Windows install. Note there the 'mouse'? Yup, another Amazon trip.